Reporting live from Columbus…
(From L to R): Howson Staub, Sur, Bosso, and Pollack.
Let the shenanigans begin!
PIOs at the Ohio_PIO Symposium – in Columbus! #OHIOPIO
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Tag Archives: PIO
Teaching the brand new DHS/FEMA Basic Public Information Officer Course
Awwww yeah! This past week, I got a chance to teach part of the brand new DHS/FEMA G0290: Basic Public Information Officer Course!
Formerly known as G-290 course, this is the new FEMA Basic Public Information Officer course taught across the country for all public safety and emergency management professionals.
Thanks again to the Kentucky Emergency Management Agency and KESC for allowing me the opportunity. Also, special thanks to the ever fashionable Mike from NIOA.
Shakas because we are reporting live from Kentucky…
Day-2 of the 2015 Kentucky Governor’s Emergency Management conference for the Disaster Recovery course
Second and final day of Disaster Recovery here at the Kentucky Governor’s Emergency Management Conference. As the lead instructor, it’s game time peeps!
I started the class out with some FEMA videos on the #Katrina10 recovery operation ongoing for Louisiana. They encompassed topics like whole community, public-private partnership, Faith-based organizations, and of course Fire/EMS public safety from SBPFD.
I then started laying the groundwork in the class for the end of day capstone recovery exercise.
But before lunch, I was requested to instruct in the adjacent room and teach the live video section of the KY Basic Public Information Officer (PIO) Course for Mike and Buddy. Addressing platforms and uses for situational awareness/common operating picture.
Nice to see some new PIOs in front of a camera. They did fairly well.
After lunch, we did some work with forms and cost recovery with Judge Bertram.
Overall, everyone had a great time learning and collaborating ideas for future Post Disaster Recovery plans. I’m looking forward to seeing Kentucky’s success in their enhanced recovery process now.
Special thanks to the Kentucky Emergency Management Office, KESC, and Ohio EMA for the invite and allowance to speak to all 38 Emergency Management Directors, 2 EM coordinators, 1 EM planner, 1 USAR, 1 lawyer, and 1 county executive. I’m also so glad to have the largest class at the conference too.
In anticipation for AlohaFridays, they broke out their best Aloha on a Thursday afternoon…Just. For. Me.
My new peeps! Reporting live from Kentucky…
Packed September for 3 different regions with #NatlPrep
August was quite the month of new stuff, and in true form, September will be just as exciting.
I am sure know that September is my most favorite month right? September is National Preparedness month where I’ll be featuring a whole bunch of different preparedness plans and you can participate and better prepare you and your family for disasters or emergencies. All of it…totally free!
But for the rest of the month, here’s the plan:
First week: I’ll be presenting at the Nebraska Infrastructure Protection Conference on Social Media intelligence and disasters. On day-2 of the conference, I’ll be giving the my national keynote presentation: Task Force Deployment to St. Bernard Parish Louisiana – Lower 9th Ward. Region-7 boom!
Second week: I’ll be presenting at the State of Kentucky Governor’s Emergency Management Workshop rolling out the brand new G-270.4 Recovery from Disaster course. Two days of critical recovery classes in Region-4…with me!
Third week: I’ll be in Columbus doing some Mass Fatality TtT classes with Ohio EMA and then delivering another Social Media course to Franklin County EMA. Back in Region-5.
Fourth week: We have the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s PIO Symposium (Friday September 25th, 2015) in Columbus.
And the Fifth week: I just might have some time to do some paperwork. Sigh.
This will be a tough first few weeks, but looking forward to the various regions.
And remember: Make your emergency plan today.
Friday talks with Ohio EMA leadership
It was great to spend some time with Ohio EMA leadership yesterday.
Discussion on community resilience, task force deployments, Presidential Declarations, key initiatives, outreach, training, EMAC deployments, stakeholder engagement, public information officer, Emergency Management visibility, social media, Public Assistance, SBA loans, documentation and reimbursements, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Public and Private partnerships…heck-we even touched on the buzz words for 2015: Climate change and Cyber.
For sure, lots of notes!
It is so great to hear OEMA Executive Director Sima Merick passionate about all facets of Emergency Management.
Also got a chance to hang with my Ohio EMA Training and Education peeps Lisa and Susan too. Solid discussion about the upcoming Mass Fatalities course (G-386), PIO Courses (G-290), JIC/JIS Courses (G-291), Intermediate Incident Command courses (ICS-300), and the Recovery from Disasters Course (G-270.4).
Lots of good free stuff upcoming from Ohio EMA!
BTW-If you did a double take on that first picture, yes sir Sur, #AlohaFridays are made for an Aloha shirt. Period. Also a historical note, Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.
Don’t worry peeps, look closely as I had my Ohio pin on.
Have a great weekend!
Final FEMA review of the new social media courses #NDPTC
I popped back-to-back-to-back social media classes last week in Sacramento, California.
Participants from all over the west coast attended. Specifically for Thursday and Friday, FEMA reviewed our new curriculum courses. Yep, straight up evaluation. Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous.
Ongoing for course design, I will make a few more additions/changes before courses are sent to the National Training and Exercise Division (NTED) for certification. Hoping for final approval in November 2015. Hope to hear the magical words “Federally published” as my course is listed in the DHS / FEMA Training catalog. Whoa Nellie!
For the classes? We had great interaction from all participants.
Solid discussions during the breakout sessions included professionals from all Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) as well as experts from the National Weather Service (NWS), Critical Infrastructure, and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs), etc… Diverse groups make for the best discussions for sure!
As part of our continued efforts in Emergency Management, it is imperative that we address issues from the All-Hazards approach and incorporate the support of our stakeholders in solutions.
With heavy discussion, class participants had a great time engaging with others and using tools/techniques that are specific to the Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Directorates. Obviously, I showcased the importance of a good Public Information Officer (PIO) / Public Affairs Officer (PAO) and how their interaction in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) or the Joint Information Center/System (JIC/JIS) is imperative to a successful emergency or disaster.
Also, starting to build an online learning library that can be easily accessed from anywhere using the #NDPTC is always good reference. Free. My favorite F-word.
Special mahalos to fellow Instructors Cheryl and MaryJo in the delivery of these courses.
Also the solid smiles from fellow #SMEM Jennifer and Scott was crucial support on this delivery.
Glad to be working with partners like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), and the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC). Truly great to see everyone working collaboratively. Thanks to the Sacramento County Emergency Management for hosting these courses.
Looking forward to the next class at the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) conference in Clark County, Nevada. See you there!
Reporting live as I sink into the mud!
Shoes! SHOES PEOPLE!
I can’t wait for all those expensive heels to get stuck in the mud…and no one likes a pair of muddy dress pants and fancy black wingtips. C’mon!
Reporters: Please dress appropriately when covering a story.
PIO/PAOs: Please dress appropriately when arriving on scene.
Are you violating Facebook’s Terms of Service? Safety-PIO-SM-15-004
| 15-004: Are you violating Facebook’s Terms of Service? | |
| Agency: Various public safety agencies | Topic(s): Facebook organization page |
| Date: 07-31-15 | Platform: Facebook |
Facebook has a wide audience and many public safety agencies have taken to Facebook to promote their efforts. However, many agencies have created the wrong type of account on Facebook.
By creating your agency’s page as a person on Facebook, you are violating Facebook’s terms of service. And if you are going to ask, Facebook administration has the right to immediately delete everything. Yikes.
By registering your agency as an ORGANIZATIONAL PAGE, you can take advantage of Facebook’s analytics. This information is incredibly valuable as you evaluate who, what, at what time, and most importantly the how and why they are searching/visiting your agency’s organizational page.
Facebook readily asks if you know people and displays their basic account information. Facebook’s goal is to increase your networks by showcasing people that are similar to you. If you happen to see one of your neighboring public safety agencies who may have incorrectly registered a Facebook personal account, take the time to inform them on changing their account from a personal page to an organizational page.
Likes? As an organization, can I like other pages? Yes, as an organizational page, you can like other agencies too. Through Facebook likes, you can showcase to your trusted network of similar public safety agencies.
Remember, social media is about how you can amplify your networks and positively engage your constituents. We are constantly strengthening our relationships with similar groups – all in the name of safety.
Look, we all need to be good stewards of our public safety brand. All Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) need to constantly support each other and help agencies who need some social media guidance.
By double checking your agency and your partner agencies.
- You can be compliant with Facebook’s Terms of Service agreement.
- You can ascertain detailed visitor demographics free from Facebook’s organizational analytical information.
Time is valuable, so post good stuff.
To download the one-pager, click on the link here: Safety-PIO-SM-15-004-PersonalOrOrganizationalOnFacebook
Press credentials discussed
We talked a little about press credentials last week in our Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) Basic Public Information Officer (PIO) class. Here’s an example of Chicago’s press creds.
(Some of you may remember Erin Kennedy from WKYC 3 here in Cleveland).
PIO Pro Tip: Build trusted relationships w/ the media prior to an incident.
Final day of instructing Ohio EMA’s Basic Public Information Officers Course
Final day of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency’s Basic Public Information Officer Course (G-290). Kaboom!
Before class started, we pumped a little Billy Joel through the ECC&C speakers.
We talked about what kind of information needs to be disseminated including categorizing messages by priority. Obviously, we discussed various social media platforms and a few publishing options to maximize visibility.
Basically, it still comes down to maximizing our efforts during a disaster or emergency.
Working in groups, all participants formulated action items to implement at their agencies. Incidentally, this is truly the reason why so many ICS classes exercise in groups…is to help facilitate open dialogue. Building relationships is easier in an open classroom setting.
And yes, 0300 is NOT the time to be meeting fellow public safety professionals for the first time in the EOC.
As a group, we evaluated everyone’s TV PIO interview.
Everyone shared constructive recommendations with the entire class. Everyone.
In fact, the private industry crew really enjoyed the training and wanted to work/train more closely with various public safety agencies (Hmmmm, I sense this could be the start of a public-private-partnerships-EEEK).
In the end, more group work and a secondary interview helped participants to become more comfortable in front of the camera.
Additionally, non-verbal actions including certain physical cues were shared to help PIOs take back control from an aggressive reporter and take control of the interview.
Remember, the important point to remember is….
Reporting live from FEMA Region-5, at the Medina County Emergency Coordination Center & Classroom…
Where is @rusnivek? 
